Fighting like two little kids
by lleytonhewitt
Summary: Troy is losing his mind after a brief encounter with Gabriella's ex-boyfriend, to her great displeasure. They end up fighting but is it for better or for worse?


I just hope you enjoy it ;)

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><p>"Troy, look at me." said Gabriella for the umpteenth time. She was tapping her foot anxiously on the taupe-colored carpet, trying really hard not to lose her temper. She then looked down at him sitting on the couch, with his head in his hands and his eyes closed.<p>

"I refuse to do so." He responded, annoyed.

"What are you, five?"

He had been in this position since they had been back from a morning's shopping. She was still unsure of what was wrong with him but she knew him like the back of her hand, he would soon confess. However, she had to work him up a little bit before and she would most definitely enjoy that part very much.

"Have you ever heard a child respond "I refuse to do so"?" He asked sarcastically. Oh damn woman! Couldn't he be left alone when he was angry! Did she really have to sit next to him, her arms crossed and a big frown on her pretty little face?

"I'm waiting." She added, breaking the silence.

"I'm stubborn." That was clearly the understatement of the century for her.

"So am I."

"Gabriella, leave me alone for fuck's sake!" He said when she attempted to rub his back.

"But why?" she half yelled throwing her hands in the air just for the dramatic effect.

"Oh don't play dumb with me. You _know_ why, you just want me to say it."

"I don't know what exactly is bothering you but I'm sure it has something to do with Thomas." There she had said it and he wasn't going to like that!

"Ding, ding, ding! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a smart girl in the room!"

"Sarcasm is going to get you nowhere Bolton so quit it, it's not even funny." She stuck out her tongue at him. That was lame, she would admit.

For a moment, silence invaded the entire house and the tension was so high you could almost touch it. They were sitting side by side on the couch, like two little kids refusing to talk. She knew he needed to let his anger out therefore it wouldn't take him any longer than…

5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

"I can't believe how pissed off I am right now!" He stood up abruptly and started pacing around the living-room, his right hand running wildly through his hair.

"Tell me what he did, I don't understand."

"Seriously, were you there? Didn't you see him? Oh Gabi, long time no see. Fancy seeing you here, in your _favorite _store. Gabriella, I was such a fool to let you go. Gabi, I have no words to describe how gorgeous you look." He said mimicking Thomas, Gabriella's ex-boyfriend.

A huge smile erupted on Gabriella's face which clearly aggravated Troy more than he already was.

"I'm angry and you're smiling. That's rich Gabriella!"

"You're jealous." She said simply. He suddenly stopped his movements and turned to glare at her.

"Who said I was jealous? I'm just stating facts since your ex boyfriend was nothing but a dick when he ran into us a few hours ago!"

"Watch your language, Bolton. Besides you're overreacting, he was just being… polite I guess."

"Well you'll have to define polite for me again please! He may have been polite to _you_ because I reckon he was undoubtedly totally ignoring me. Any closer and he would have made out with you in front of me!"

"Now you're just being ridiculous." My God, this man was definitely a piece of work!

"Your ex-boyfriend hits on you and I'm the one being ridiculous, of course!" His fists were clenched in his jeans pockets, all the way trying to figure out why Thomas had bothered him so much. Gabriella was his so what was the problem? Silence overtook them for a few minutes before he lashed out again.

"He had absolutely no right to tell you you're beautiful!" He exclaimed, outraged.

"Is it a new law that I've never heard of?" He brushed off her comment. Either she really was trying to get under his skin or she really was clueless.

"I mean, of course you're fucking gorgeous, any person on this earth with eyes could tell but what about showing a little bit of respect, huh? He had his chance with you a long time ago and he blew it like an idiot, thank God! But I don't need to know and you certainly don't need to know either that he thinks you're amazing and that he still knows your favorite store. I'm here for that, that's my job." He ended his rambling by pointing at himself.

"That was sweet, thank you." She replied sincerely to his somewhat beautiful speech. Gosh, even if it wasn't on purpose he knew how to make her melt!

"How could you have dated such an arrogant, self-absorbed jerk like him?" Here we were again! He certainly knew how to hit the off switch too.

"Believe me, I'm getting used to jerks." She so subtly pointed out, perfectly aware of the fact that he wasn't in for a joke.

"Don't even compare me to that fucking prick!" He shouted, pointing to the door as if Thomas was standing behind it.

"Would you stop it, please? Stop yelling and doing whatever the hell you're doing and listen to me." His eyes softened for a moment, fading the dark blue color caused by his anger. "You're nothing like him okay? And yes, I dated him but it was only for a year. It turned out he wasn't the guy I thought he was and he ended up hurting me in the process but it's done, I've been over it for ages. I'm yours now and we've been together for quite some time so quit fussing about him."

"I will quit talking about him if you can honestly answer this one question." He looked at her a bit nervous.

"Sure, do ask." She shrugged, preparing herself for another dumb outburst.

"What exactly did you feel when you saw him? What came to your mind when you saw him there after all this time, knowing I was the one standing next to you and not him?" His questions were tactless but his tone was surprisingly calm and unsure. Yet, she was so mad that he would dare ask such questions that made anything but sense to her.

"That's deep, Troy. Congrats!"

"If you're just going to sit there and make fun of me, you can forget I asked. It's probably none of my business after all."

"Spare me this, Troy! Don't act like I did something wrong. God, you're so infuriating! Thomas and I talked for two minutes tops and I acknowledge the fact that he was flirting with me but what I can't accept is you asking about non-existent feelings that were supposedly there between him and me. I personally don't remember giving you any reason to be jealous or to even doubt me so for the last time, stop it now or you're seriously going to offend me here."

"You said I was your boyfriend." He said, ignoring her answer. She raised her eyebrows, showing him her incomprehension.

"What's your point? That's a good thing, no?"

"We've been together for three years and four months, indeed. And I'm just being presented as the boyfriend. Yeah, totally a good thing." Was she detecting bitterness in his voice?

"Troy you're not making any sense." She was starting to regret manipulating him into telling her what was wrong. He was completely losing his mind over a stupid encounter with her ex. When he didn't respond, she continued. "That's what you are and I recall it's not the first time I tell someone you're my boyfriend."

"Yeah but you don't say that in front of your ex! _I_ am offended because you didn't give me enough importance. I felt like I was… just a guy you are casually dating." He headed towards the kitchen to drink some water and left her stunned in the living-room, analyzing his words.

When he came back, he found her curled up in the couch, a cream cushion in her hands and her eyes vacant. He immediately started to feel guilty for he had caused all this. Because of his jealousy, childish behavior and stubbornness the woman he was crazy in love with was hurt. She was so perfect, she surely didn't deserve this and more and more every day, he felt like he didn't deserve her. She didn't even glance at him so he stared at her for a few minutes, admiring her beauty and finally realizing that the only thing she wanted was to be with him, to be his and Thomas was never an issue, not for her anyway. Eventually, he went up to her and took her in his arms before starting to play with her long curls. She didn't protest but didn't show any appreciation either.

"Is that how you really feel? You think I'm just flaunting you around because you're this good-looking dude?" She asked sincerely, her eyes watering.

"Of course not, baby." He looked at her and smiled apologetically.

"Then why did you say it?" She wondered out loud.

"Because I'm a fucking jerk! I was angry and looking for arguments to support my idiotic way of thinking, that's why."

"Seriously, stop with the swearing." She giggled a little bit, making his heart skip a beat. "Are you still mad at me?" She whispered, afraid of the answer.

"Gabriella, baby." He paused, taking his time to take her face in his hands gently, looking intensely in her eyes to show his seriousness. "I was never mad at you okay? I was probably more angry with myself because I couldn't control the harmful feelings that took over me. It was never you and it wasn't even Thomas, I swear. I just think I needed to get this out of my system."

"Not to sound pretentious or anything but it's not the first time a man finds me attractive." He chuckled at her humble nature. Gosh, had he mentioned that she was perfect?

"Unfortunately, it's not." He grinned. "But I've never been confronted to someone who has been intimately connected with you before, kind of like I am now and that scared the sh-, I mean the shoe out of me."

"Troy, what he and I had couldn't even come close to what we have now. We, baby are it, the real deal and no one can take that away from us."

"I know, I guess I'm… insecured when it comes to you."

"Well, so am I! There are also a lot of girls ready to jump onto you on every corner of the streets. But I trust you. That's the key to any relationship, right?"

"You're right. But just so you know, I do trust you. With all my heart. I was just acting like a little kid protecting his favorite toy, you know. Not that you're a toy or my property…Well… I mean, no offense!"

"None taken. It's a great metaphor." She winked at him. "By the way, what's up with the boyfriend comment?"

"What?" He was a bit taken aback. He had hoped she hadn't lingered on that comment but after all, he was talking about noisy Gabriella here.

"Is it that bad that I tell people you're my boyfriend instead of whatever you want me to label you as?"

He chuckled. Well, that was now or never. "No, it's not. But I guess what happened today has made me realize something."

"What's that?" She asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Well, this is not what I had in mind when I thought I'd do this someday but I'm just going to follow and trust my instinct." This simple sentence was enough to make her heart start to beat ten times faster, hoping for what she thought was coming. Next thing she knew, he was taking her hands in his, beginning to pour his heart out. "Our encounter with Thomas has made me understand that I don't want to be just your boyfriend anymore."

"Troy, are you proposing?" She raised her eyebrows, excitement written all over her face and spoiling what Troy was totally improvising.

"Shhh, please you're ruining my moment!" He moaned. "But that's exactly why I want to be more than your boyfriend. Because you always interrupt me, no matter the circumstances. You want to know every little detail of everything and that makes you so damn curious! Having the last word is a religion for you and I've learned these past three years that these things that seem to sometimes put me over the edge, are the things that I love the most about you. Besides, I also happen to do a pretty good job at driving you mad myself but I'm pretty charming so I guess that makes it up for it. Moreover, I'm completely sure that it means we complement each other. And I don't have a single doubt that we are meant to be together. What I'm really trying to say in this messy speech is that I don't have a ring or anything, but I want you to be truly mine forever. I want you to be able to say four simple words to whoever may cross our paths in the near future, words like "He's my husband!" and nothing in the world could make me happier. So, Gabriella" Tears were already running down her face when he got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

She didn't wait to throw herself at him and kissed him deeply before saying the expected "Yes, I'll marry you!"

They hugged, cried, danced and kissed before she added:

"Baby, we're two adults, fighting like little kids, getting married!"

"Hell yeah!" He answered pumping his fist in the air.


End file.
